Quotation Marks
by ghikiJ
Summary: Language is powerful. Even in its simplest form, words can alter our reality and define the precious relationships we form with others. What words will you spell in between quotation marks? A ficlet collection.
1. Words

I learned quickly that stress really does fuel creativity. Swarmed with projects I have to turn in next week, I ended up with this. This ficlet (I don't even want to call it a fic because it does not have a real plot) was written solely for stress relief. In other words, this story is an impulse piece.

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><p><strong>Quotation Marks<strong>

**Summary: **Language is powerful. The very words we utter define who are in our society and portrays our legacy. Even in its simplest form, words can alter our reality, illustrate our existence and portray the precious relationships we form with others.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own K-ON!and any of its characters.

**Note:** This series is nowhere near the seriousness my other works. Stories written here are merely for practice purposes or strictly for fun. I needed a way to share the small scenes that randomly come to me during the day without spending days upon days making it a truly wholesome story. Of course, as simple as this story and subsequent entries are, I still tried to incorporate themes and symbols. And, like always, I will strive to present a moral lesson with each one.

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><p><strong>Entry 1: Words<strong>

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><p>You uncomfortably brushed your short brown hair with your fingers as you entered the pastry shop.<p>

"Ne, Takahashi-san, do you still have some taiyaki?"

The middle-aged man looked up from his newspaper to greet you, "Of course, Yui-chan. How many would you like?"

"O-oh, it's Ui." You smiled awkwardly.

The man blinked and squinted, "Ui-chan? Not wearing your ribbon today?"

"Yes, I lost it while doing laundry yesterday," you explained with a light chuckle, "I'm actually going to get a new one today. It does… feel weird without something holding my hair up."

"I see, I see," Takahashi Kouta chuckled, "You really look so much like Yui-chan. I thought it was her coming in. She's off to college, right?"

"Hai, she left less than a month ago," you replaced your hand on the small purse you carried as you smiled amiably, "She's doing very well there with her friends."

"Ah, that's good to hear." The man folded the newspaper in his hand and continued, "So, Ui-chan, what brings you here?"

"I'd like some taiyaki." You repeated your order, "I smelled them while I was walking down the street, and I haven't had some for a while now."

"That's right, and good timing too. A new batch just finished baking."

"That's wonderful!"

"How many?"

"Um… four please. I might as well take some home for mom and dad."

"Coming right up!"

You shifted where you stood and watched Takahashi move to get a bag where he could place the pastry you ordered. Humming to yourself, you looked around the small bakery and became fascinated at all the different baked goods that lined the shelves. A small batch of cupcakes captured your fancy, brightly decorated with pastel-colored paw-print sprinkles.

_Maybe I'll get those next time._

_Or I can try and learn how to make them._

You blinked curiously, trying to remember when you last baked a cake. Since your sister, an avid consumer of sweets, had left to live in the dorms, you have not exercised your baking expertise for a while. Perhaps you brought home-baked cookies and biscuits into the clubroom once or twice but that was not exactly the same as baking an actual cake.

_I wonder what Azusa-chan and Jun-chan like._

After deciding to ask them tomorrow when you go to class, your smile widened. The last few weeks had been quite difficult for you since you have never been apart from your sister before. But she religiously called and assured you that everything was fine, and that she worried about you. She even told you more than just a few times to have fun because this year was the last year of your high school career.

Encouraged by her concern, you managed to look forward to each day again.

Bit by bit.

And today was even better than yesterday! The sun was bright outside, and the town seemed more lively than usual. Since you lost your ribbon, you made it your mission to go in town to buy a new one and find a gadget that could hopefully keep your laundry from flying off whenever you hung them to dry. That happened to your scarf a couple of years ago, and you have lost a few socks since then. The problem definitely needed some solution before you lose more garments.

Takahashi came back holding a brown bag that contained the red bean paste pastry.

"There you go."

"Thank you so much!" You paid for the treats, bowed, and exited the shop.

While taking one of the fish-shaped treat from the brown bag, you observed the people walking by and took a bite. It was late Saturday afternoon and there were a lot of people out shopping and spending time with their friends and family. Some of the faces you encountered looked quite familiar to you as well. Maybe they were some of the new freshmen you have seen at school but never really met.

Chewing carefully, you browsed the clear windows of the various stores that lined the shopping district. You didn't have much money on you so you settled to just window shop. Perhaps you only had enough to buy the ribbon and do a little bit of grocery shopping so you could not possibly splurge and buy that cute lavender blouse that one boutique displayed.

That was alright though, you thought, you were more than happy to just look and watch.

You hummed to yourself as you finished your treat and reached your destination. It was a big shopping center but at least the items they sell were in reasonable prices. You checked out what was new in the store as you made your way towards the aisles that held hair ornaments. Seeing numerous articles of clothing that suited your wardrobe and your tastes, you decided that you were due for some shopping soon, and made a note to do so once you get your allowance next week.

Placing your purse on your shoulder and folding the edges of the brown bag close, you stood in front of the selections of ribbons that hung on the shelf. Should you get another simple one? Should you get yellow again? Or maybe you should try something else? You frowned. You were not exactly indecisive but there were so many options that you found yourself stumped.

_Maybe a pink one?_

"Ui."

_Or maybe I should get the gartered ties instead, they're easier to use._

"Ui…"

_Should I just change my hairstyle? No, just not having my hair tied for a day already feels weird._

You giggled at your own silliness.

"Hello, Ui?"

You blinked and turned to find Nakano Azusa looking at you with a bewildered expression on her face.

"Azusa-chan!" You happily greeted your friend.

Bewilderment was replaced by a slight frown, "I've been calling you for a while now, you know? Were you spacing out?"

"Eh? Oh, no…" You chuckled awkwardly, "I was just thinking which one to get."

Azusa tilted her head and looked at the merchandise behind you, "Buying a new ribbon?"

"Hai, I lost my old one." You sighed, "The wind blew it away when I hung it to dry."

"Oh, so that's why you're not wearing a ribbon…" she trailed off, "…wait. That was your only ribbon?"

You nodded, quite abashed, "I don't usually lose things so it didn't occur to me to get spares."

She shook her head in mild exasperation, pigtails swaying as she did so, and chuckled, "While I'm actually surprised that you lost something, I didn't think you're the type not to have spares, or plan b's for that matter. You've always been the responsible type, Ui."

You smiled and pushed a lock of hair behind your ear, "Yes, well…" unable to find an excuse for your rare slip-up, all you could do was chuckle and change the subject, "What are you doing here, Azusa-chan?"

"Huh? Oh, my mother asked me to get some things from the office supply store across the street." The pigtailed girl explained, "But then I saw you walk in here so I decided to say hi."

"You saw me go in?" You asked with a slight disbelief in your tone.

"Yes…" she tilted her head, "Why?"

"You knew it was me?"

"Yeah…?"

"Even though my hair is down?"

"Uh huh…" Bemused, the black-haired girl added, "Am I not supposed to…?"

You immediately shook your head. You did not even know why you pressed the issue. All you knew was that most people saw Hirasawa Yui when you have your hair down. It was not such a bad thing, as far as you were concerned, but it was certainly rare for people to know that you were in fact Hirasawa Ui when your brown locks were free from their confines.

"Oh, that's not what I meant," you responded to your friend, "people usually don't guess correctly."

Still puzzled, Azusa said, "But I didn't guess…"

"You di—" You stopped yourself before you and Azusa get into another round of inane questions about your appearance, and merely smiled. "I see…"

"I didn't," she parroted the words you stopped, "I mean, ever since you doubled in for Yui-senpai during freshman year and imitated her again when school started, it had been relatively easy to tell which one's which."

"Oh…"

The pigtailed girl nodded and seemed to lose herself in idle thought as she lowered her eyes away from your face.

Reminded of how you were unmasked both times—all thanks to Yamanaka Sawako—your arms instinctively flew up to your chest. Truly, out of all the possible to ways to tell someone's identity, it just had to be—

"N-No! I didn't figure it out that way!" Azusa, face flushed tomato red, practically leaped away from you in mortification. "I couldn't even see y-your—I could just tell, alright!"

_Did she just yowl…?_

"Huh?"

"I-I mean, you dress differently than Yui-senpai and I've seen you carry that purse before so…" she trailed off, unable to complete her sentence, and tried to regain her composure by slightly glaring at the packets of yellow pompoms at the end of the aisle.

You did not quite understand Azusa's outburst but you did appreciate that she took time to notice how different you were from your airheaded elder sister. Not everyone did so after all.

You giggled and gently poked her red cheek, "You're red, Azusa-chan. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass you."

Pouting, she muttered something under her breath and replied, "I'm not red, and it's okay."

"You really are adorable, Onee-chan is right." You giggled even more, covering your mouth with your free hand.

She opened her mouth but closed it again in a frown, muttering incoherently to herself.

"So, Azusa-chan, which one should I get?"

She returned her eyes towards you then looked at the ribbons, "You really don't know?"

You shook your head, "Since you're here, I might as well ask for an opinion about the matter, ne?"

"Like, color?"

"Mhmm…"

She stepped next to you and browsed, "Definitely the orange one."

"Orange?"

"That's your favorite color, isn't it?"

"But isn't it too close to yellow?"

"That's true… but it does stand out against your hair color so…"

"Hmm…"

"Green is another option, I suppose."

"No, I'll take the orange one." You smiled brightly.

"Eh? You don't have to get that one if you like something else."

"I do like it."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course!"

She smiled in exasperation and nodded.

"Here, hold this for me, Azusa-chan, while I pay for the ribbon." You handed her the brown bag of taiyaki, took the simple orange ribbon from the shelf, and quickly paid for it on the counter.

You saw Azusa standing next to the shopping center's exit as you pocketed the receipt of your purchase. Tying your hair up, you beamed at your friend as you walked up to her.

She smiled back and returned your bag of treats.

"I feel like myself again," you sighed contently. You suddenly remembered the sweet pastry in the paper bag you carried and fished one out, offering it to the pigtailed girl, "Here, Azusa-chan! Thank you for helping me choose a new ribbon."

"Eh? It's not a big deal, and it's my pleasure, I suppose."

Even though she didn't make a motion towards the pastry, you still dangled it in front of her.

Azusa stared at the taiyaki before taking it gratefully, chuckling all the while, "Thanks, Ui."

"I know you like them."

Taking a bite from the fish-shaped treat, she nodded, "I do."

You grinned and held your hands behind the small of your back.

"Ne, Azusa-chan? Are you free right now?"

Still chewing, she nodded, "I suppose so. The stuff mom asked for isn't really necessary until tomorrow."

"Want to come over for dinner?"

She deliberated with herself for a few moments and asked, "You're cooking?"

"Of course!"

She smiled and bobbed her head, "Then I will!"

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><p>Monday quickly came, much to the disdain of the school population. You found the school day pass by quickly enough, however, because of the rather interesting passage your class read in your English class.<p>

"Ui, class is over. We should head to the clubroom." Suzuki Jun lazily called out to you with a yawn.

You spared her a glance and chuckled, but resumed your writing. "I'm almost done, Jun-chan. Do look more chipper, I brought some snacks today."

That seemed to wake the bassist up, "Sweet! I love you, Ui!"

Your club's president chose that moment to grace the two of you with her presence.

"You're really just after the food, aren't you, Jun?" Azusa said, rather unimpressed about Jun's cheerfulness. She then sighed and continued, "Sawako-sensei said that we can't use the clubroom today. Some maintenance people are still up there checking for leaks."

"Didn't that happen last year too?" You asked as you looked up from your notes. You quickly noticed that Azusa's mood was not very good, for the black-haired girl had a noticeable crease on her brow.

"Yes," was the guitarist's simple answer.

"The kitty isn't very happy, I see." Jun grinned and chuckled deviously, earning a glare from the shorter girl.

"Of course not." There was a visible scowl that pulled the corners of Azusa's lips down, "This just means we won't get any practice done!"

What Jun muttered next made you laugh lightly, "And… she doesn't deny she's a kitty."

Indignant, the black-haired girl puffed her cheeks, "Jun!"

"Okay, okay, sorry, oh great black panther. I just thought you should lighten up a bit."

"Mou… you two are just like them. Why do I always get teased?"

"Because it's fun!" the cheerful bassist declared rather boisterously.

Distracted from your work now, you decided to participate in the banter, "So what are we doing to do today then?"

Azusa sighed and shrugged, "Without a place to play our instruments… nothing."

Thoughtfully, Jun spoke as she tucked her arms behind her scruffy head, "We're free then?"

Crestfallen, the new buchou of the Light Music Club nodded.

Unable to take Azusa's apparent depression any longer, the russet-haired girl clapped the shorter girl's back. "Don't worry too much, Azusa! I'm sure they'll be done with it tomorrow."

You smiled uneasily because, if you remember correctly, the club room took days to repair last time. Even so, you offered words of encouragement to your friend, "We'll just practice harder tomorrow, right, Azusa-chan?"

As if fuel was added to the fire, Azusa pumped her fist, "Definitely!"

"There you have it," Jun concluded with a wide smile, "You don't have to act like it's the end of the world, Azusa." She gave the black-haired girl another pat, "Well, I might as well go visit the Jazz club. I haven't said hi to my kouhai there since school started."

As if it was second nature, you held up a small canister wrapped in cloth. You knew that Jun wanted those treats and had been looking forward to them since you mentioned them.

"Thanks, Ui! See you two tomorrow!"

And so three became two.

You watched Azusa while she was still facing the classroom door, and felt a tinge of sympathy for the girl. You knew that her expectations for your new Keionbu were great. You also knew that she was pushing herself to fill the void that the seniors have left.

"We will be fine, Azusa-chan." You suddenly spoke to break the silence that permeated the classroom.

"I know, Ui." She responded even though she did not turn to face you for a moment, as if gathering her composure.

"Then why do you worry?" You offered a self-reflecting question. You had a hunch that Azusa just needed to speak her doubts to fully understand them.

She finally turned to you, looking like a lost kitten, "I don't want to disappoint them."

_Ah, I was right…_

"You won't, Azusa-chan." You told her, "I know you won't."

She sighed and leaned against the desk behind her, "You always know the right thing to say, huh Ui?"

You blinked, bemused, "I do?"

"Well…" Azusa paused and stared at the red tips of her shoes, "Cheering people up comes naturally to you, I guess, to Jun as well."

"We just don't want to see you sad, that's all."

She smiled.

It was more than enough of a thank you as far as you were concerned.

"You aren't getting ready to go home?" She mused aloud when she noticed that you still had your notebooks and pen case on your desk.

"Oh, well," you glanced at the notes you were taking, "I borrowed a book from the library during lunch and I'm just copying some quotes in my notebook."

"Quotes?"

You nodded, "Don't you think it's great that there are people who can teach us so many things with a mere sentence?"

"Oh, you mean what we learned in English today?"

"Mhmm," You beamed, "I found them really fascinating."

"I had a hard time understanding some of the more complex words, to be honest."

"I guess, but to be able to share wisdom through a few words encased in simple quotation marks is quite amazing isn't it?"

"I suppose so…" She looked at your simple handwriting, trying to read what you have written so far. She then chuckled, "Somehow, this feels so like you, Ui."

"You think so?" For some reason, you felt quite happy about what she just said.

"Yeah, finding happiness in the simplest of things seems to be a Hirasawa characteristic." She chuckled as she idly scratched her chin, "But I can never imagine Yui-senpai taking pleasure out of written words."

"That's why she has music, ne?"

"Right."

"You do too, Azusa-chan."

"And you have words."

"Hai."

"No wonder you know how to use them so well."

"Want to walk home together?"

"See what I mean?"

With such an adorable expression on Azusa's reddened face, all you could do in response was giggle. You then gathered your belongings and neatly placed them inside your bag as Azusa reached over to retrieve hers from her desk. Quietly, the two of you left the classroom and slid the door close.

"By the way, Azusa-chan."

"Hmm?"

"I think you have a way with words too."

You felt cherry-tinged mahogany orbs glance at you.

"Mhmm, the things you told me last weekend." You paused, trying to find the right words to say, but even with all the eloquent quotes you have read that day from which you can draw them from, you ended up saying, "They meant a lot to me."

"Ui…"

You didn't turn to see what expression Azusa had on her features because you didn't need to.

You already knew.

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><p><em><strong>"Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with shades of deeper meaning." <strong>_

_**~Maya Angelou**_

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><p><strong>TBC<strong>

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><p><strong>Author's Notes:<strong> As I have already said in the pre-story AN, this series is written strictly for fun and some practice. As you can see, I limited narration as much as I could because I need some practice with dialogues. I wanted to try to tell a story through the uttered words of the characters. I suppose I could have done something similar without posting this as a story (this rather plot-less piece truly rubbed against my inner perfectionist) but where is the fun in that? I might as well entertain some readers who like lighter hearted stuff. I can't promise this series to be free of my usual genres like angst and tragedies though.

This may be a reckless venture, overlapping with an on-going manga, but I had fun writing this entry. This is the first time I have written Ui, Azusa and Jun outside of "Spectre's" AU setting and in a canonverse setting. It took me a while to get the honorifics consistent because they are nonexistent in the aforementioned story. At this point, there is really not much planned for this series. In fact, the plan was to just write whatever comes to mind, ignoring the restrictions of serious prose like "Spectre." I did not label this series as canonverse or AU because it may be a mixture of both.

As always, I thank Athyra for beta-ing this entry, although she was at the verge of passing out when she did.


	2. The World

Another entry. I just want to remind readers that QM's entries are not related to each other in any away unless it is specified. This entry is a stand-alone. Also, this is the first time I have written Yui's POV in a canonverse setting, and I must say I had a hard time with her. Alas, practice is practice.

Even though "Quotation Marks" (QM) is listed under Ui and Azusa's names, they are not the main characters in this entry, and future entries may not feature them at all. QM will consist of various storylines, presenting other cast members.

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><p><strong>Entry 2: The World<strong>

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><p>It was Sunday afternoon and you were skipping down the sidewalk with your pink scarf swishing behind you. Smiling, you hummed the song you were practicing quite late last night. You have played Ichigo Parfait ga Tomaranai dozens of times already, but your bandmates insisted that you should keep practicing it because you might forget it if you stopped playing the song for a few days. You remembered whining about it but you knew they were right. You were gifted after all, according to Obaa-chan, but your gift of easily learning something only to forget another thing would not help your club.<p>

As you swayed your tote bag from side to side, you continued to hum the happy tune and simply enjoyed the cool breeze and soft sunlight during your stroll. You decided that practicing was not a chore, not at all. It was actually very fun, and you typically find yourself lost in your own small universe when you played Gitah. The thing about practicing so much though, was that you tend to get the tune stuck in your head.

Your younger sister had noticed that you kept humming the same thing over and over again earlier before you went out, and commented about it. You felt oddly proud that Ui remembered your band's song, so you gave the younger girl a quick cuddle before you set out on your mission for today. She had always been so thoughtful and supportive but there was something very different about her remembering things you loved so much.

She might not be a member of the Light Music Club but you knew that Ui genuinely adored the music you created with your friends in there.

Still humming, you glanced at the shopping list your sister had given you and smiled sheepishly when you saw that she only needed some flour, sugar, and eggs. You couldn't help but chuckle to yourself when you found a small doodle near the bottom of the list that looked like a cartoon version of Ui with a thought balloon that said "Don't lose this list, Onee-chan!"

"As expected of Ui." You quietly giggled to yourself before you continued your trek towards the grocery store.

Like clockwork, however, you found yourself distracted exactly three minutes later.

You passed a pet shop that just opened last weekend and saw a large aquarium on display inside the shop's windows. In the aquarium was a turtle, just a little bit bigger than Ton-chan. You tilted your head and watched it swim about in the water, flapping its wing-like fins as it did so. It was then a brilliant idea came to your mind. You excitedly pulled out your cell phone and started typing.

"_Ne, ne, we should get Ton-chan a girlfriend!"_

You pressed send and anxiously waited for your friends' responses to your proposal. As expected, it was President Ritsu who texted back first. Your captain never did fail you.

"_Whaa… Ton-chan needs one?"_

"_Of course! Don't you think he gets lonely in there, Ricchan? We always leave him when we go home and he stays at school even on the weekends!"_

Mio texted you right after you sent your reply to Ritsu, _"That is utterly random, Yui. Aren't you supposed to be studying?"_

"_I'm not~ Ui sent me out to get some things, so I'm out grocery shopping. Hehe, what do you think about the idea, Mio-chan? Oh, and your bunny smiley is so cute~!"_

"_Figures you'll comment about that. Well, it's not like I dislike the idea but where are we going to get the money for another turtle?"_

Azusa responded to your original text before you could type a response to Mio, _"A girlfriend? Isn't Ton-chan a girl, Yui-senpai?"_

You blinked at Azusa's message and pouted as you typed your reply, _"I thought Ton-chan is a boy."_

"_She's a girl, Yui-senpai."_

"_How do you know, Azunyan?"_

"_Err… how did you know Ton-chan is a boy then?"_

"_Because Ton-chan loves Azunyan~"_

"…_okay. I feel like this conversation will lose sense in the next reply."_

"_I guess you're right, Private. I wonder how we can get that past Mio if we decide to buy it though."_ Ritsu's message superimposed itself over Azusa's message box.

You paused thoughtfully and looked back at the swimming turtle in the aquarium. Maybe you and your friends could get part-time jobs again to get the money to buy the reptile, just like how you purchased Gitah. Looking back on your phone, you closed everyone's message boxes and texted Mugi since she was the only one who had not responded yet, _"Ne, Mugi-chan, what do you think?" _

You waited for a couple of minutes for the blonde to respond to you, but as minutes passed, you found yourself hypnotized by the turtle's antics in the aquarium that Mugi's lack of a reply was replaced by something very important.

You flipped your phone open again and typed in the group message box, _"Ne, what if Ton-chan doesn't like bigger girls?"_

Mio was the one who responded first, _"You… totally ignored my question, Yui."_

Then Ritsu's text came, _"Lmao! Why? You found one already? How big is it?"_

Azusa was next, _"…I knew it."_

Since Azusa's message was on top, you decided to reply to her first. However, you pressed the wrong button on your phone and closed her window. Too excited to tease your kouhai to notice, you ended up typing your reply to her in the group message box, _"Aww, Azunyan~ I'm sure Ton-chan still loves you even though you're bigger than him! You're very lovable after all~."_

Grinning, you could almost see Azusa either face-palming or blushing from embarrassment. You were surprised that Ritsu's replied, _"Hahahaha! Is Azusa jealous? She's really attached to Ton-chan… actually, wait, let me text her too. Let me mend that little maiden's broken heart~"_

Blanching, you finally realized that you sent your reply to Azusa to everyone. You stared at your phone nervously and waited for your kouhai's wrath to fall from the heavens. A cat's punishment was quite grave after all, and Obaa-chan even said that their grudges last for generations. Azusa's anger was no different, and you've learned that fact the hard way. The younger girl had slapped you a couple of times after all.

For a moment you wondered if Azusa's fury did last for generations and became rather scared. It didn't help that your phone decided to vibrate at that very instant, making you jump.

"…_poor Azusa,"_ Was Mio's reply. You could see the bassist shaking her head in exasperation already.

"_That's not what I meant! And were you sending those messages to everyone? Ritsu-senpai just texted me!"_

You squirmed where you stood and hastily texted back as if Azusa could actually reach you from wherever she was at that moment, _"I'm sorry, Azunyan, I didn't realize until after I sent it."_

"_Mou… but, is it true that Ton-chan wouldn't like bigger girls?"_

"_Yui, help! Mio and Azusa are ganging up on me!"_

Switching back into group message, you typed your reply to Ritsu while wearing the resolute expression of a soldier on your face, _"I'm sorry, Captain Ricchan, but reinforcements won't reach you in time!"_

"_Traitor!"_

"Ano…" One of the pet shop's employees poked her head out from the store, "May I help you?"

You jumped a bit and closed your phone with a click. Smiling brightly at the bemused woman, you scratched your cheek, "Oh, I'm just looking. My club has a pet turtle too so I was asking them if we can get another one because Ton-chan might be lonely." You then pouted, "But this one is bigger than Ton-chan so that might be a problem."

"Ton-chan?"

"Oh, Ton-chan is our turtle's name." You chuckled sheepishly as you continued to talk about the reptile. "He's a pseudo soft-shelled turtle, and he's really cute! His nose is like a pig's."

The employee listened and chatted with you for a while. She even invited you inside the shop to talk about the other turtles they had. It was only when Ui texted you that you remembered what you were supposed to be doing. You quickly bid your farewell to the nice shopkeeper and resumed your trek towards the grocery store. You hastened your steps because Ui told you that she was waiting for those supplies. You definitely didn't want your beloved little sister to get mad at you more than she already was.

You could already hear Ui's mad voice, _"Onee-chan!"_

"I have to hurry!"

It didn't occur to you that Ui had never been truly angry at you, ever.

You pulled the shopping list from your pocket and bought everything that was listed in the small piece of paper from the grocery store. You even made sure that you got the right things since you couldn't afford to fail Ui now that you have made her wait. As you walked home though, you remembered that Mugi never texted you back even though everyone else did. You briefly wondered if the keyboardist was out of the country. It was winter after all and Mugi usually went to Finland during the holidays.

"But isn't she working again this year?" You idly thought to yourself as you pressed a finger to your chin. You remembered that the blonde girl worked in the fast food restaurant you and your friends frequented in. Maybe she was working today so she didn't answer?

As you passed by the fast food restaurant, you craned your neck and tried to peek in to see if Mugi was indeed working in there but you didn't spot her distinctive blonde hair.

"Huh, I wonder where she is."

Deciding to make sure how your friend was doing, you pulled your phone out and typed, _"Mugi-chan, is everything okay?"_

You heard the sound of a device vibrating moments after you pressed the send button. Blinking, you lifted your eyes from your phone's screen and saw Mugi walking out from the fast food restaurant. She had a very sad expression on her face as she checked her phone. Then you saw that the blonde girl's shoulders started shake as she read the message you sent her.

"Mugi… chan?" You called out unsurely because you've never really seen Mugi cry before.

The keyboardist looked up from her phone, and when she saw you, tears flowed down her fair face, "Yui-chan!"

Before you could even say another word, you found yourself enveloped in a hug, "Why are you crying, Mugi-chan?"

The blonde hugged you tighter as she buried her face into your shoulder. Her own shoulders quivered as she sobbed, "Yui-chan…" She started, "I… I was having a bad day, a really bad day. I made a lot of mistakes… gave a customer the wrong order, dropped another… I broke the soda machine… and… and… I should know how to do these things already. B-but even then…"

"Mugi-chan…" Your big heart reached out to your friend as you hugged her back and stroked her hair.

"Your text messages cheered me up…" she sniffled against your scarf, "They really made me smile b-but when I read this last one you sent me… I couldn't hold my tears back anymore. You're the only one who texted me today. You're so sweet, Yui-chan. Thank you for being so thoughtful."

You felt your face heat up at the words Mugi said. You've never really learned how to react whenever someone expressed gratitude to you for it happens so rarely, and now Mugi, poised and motherly Mugi, was thanking you for sending a simple text message.

"You're welcome, Mugi-chan," You said softly as you tried to stop her tears and wrapped both your arms around the girl, "But, please stop crying… it's gonna be okay, ne? It's just been a while since you worked there." Just to make the blonde smile, you rubbed your head against hers and cuddled her right on the sidewalk, giggling and uncaring of what the passersby thought of your display. "Everything's going to be just fine, you'll see!"

After a few moments, you finally heard Mugi giggle along with you, quite charmed by your antics. She wiped her tears away with her delicate fingers as she pulled away, but she did not completely let you go until after she planted a quick kiss on your cheek.

"Thank you again."

Your face suddenly felt so warm again, and the moment you saw her wonderfully beautiful smile and brilliant blue eyes, you felt your heart beat faster and your ears burn. Even though you were uncertain about how you felt, you smiled back just as brightly.

Hugging her jacket, Mugi nuzzled her plaid scarf, "About that turtle… I'd like to see it. Do you think the pet shop is still open?"

You bobbed your head enthusiastically, "I'm sure, Mugi-chan!" Then you took her hand and tugged happily, "Come with me~"

* * *

><p><strong>"To the world, you may be just one person, but to one person, you may be the world."<strong>

**~ Author Unknown**

* * *

><p><strong>TBC<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes: <strong>Yui's quirky ways and off-the-wall way of thinking thoroughly clashed against my usual writing tone. Her nonexistent attention span did not help either. I hope I did not do too badly on her characterization, and I wish to improve since she is one of my favorite characters. The text message exchange was rather odd to write as well. I honestly did not know how to present that properly. Since I refuse to use bolded words in the actual body of the story, I settled with italics even though I usually only use that for thoughts and flashbacks. Hopefully it was not too confusing.

As for the quotation used in this entry, I think it's just a common saying. I tried locating the original author of that line but my search was in vain. In every site I looked into, it was authored by a different person so I just decided to put "Author Unknown" instead of getting reviews trying to correct the quote's author.

Thanks to Athyra for Beta-ing this chapter and keeping me on my toes, as always.


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